Halo 4 'Infinity' looks to redefine the multiplayer experience

Halo 4 is introducing a groundbreaking new multiplayer offering that Microsoft and 343 Industries is promising will "innovate and redefine" the way people think about storytelling and multiplayer experiences.

Remember back in April when Microsoft registered domain names for "Halo Infinity"? Microsoft and 343 Industries yesterday revealed Halo Infinity Multiplayer, the new take on Halo's rich multiplayer experience. Judging from the developer's description, it appears as if 343 Industries is trying to integrate the overall fiction of the Halo universe into the multiplayer portion of the game, rather than having multiplayer be a completely separate experience as it had been in previous games in the franchise.

In doing so, the hub of the Halo 4 multiplayer experience is the UNSC Infinity - the largest starship in thh UNSC fleet. This will serve as the center of your Spartan career - the place where you'll build your custom Spartan-IV supersoldier, and progress your multiplayer career across all Halo 4 competitive and cooperative game modes.

"Surrounded by the sights, sounds and crew of the biggest vessel in the UNSC fleet, your multiplayer experience will be embedded in the fiction of Halo like never before, where your progress and game choices affect your appearance, arsenal, and role on the battlefield," Microsoft and 343 explained.

Among the modes is the recently announced Spartan Ops co-op campaign, a series of missions and cinematics delivered on a weekly basis that will focus on the various Infinity crew members and a new team of Spartans called Majestic Squad. Playable in single-player or cooperatively, players will explore the corners of Requiem in these objective-based missions, and help uncover the secrets of the mysterious Forerunner world.

"A massive-scale adventure that builds off the “Halo 4” story, access to Spartan Ops is included with “Halo 4” at no additional charge – effectively delivering two campaign experiences in one game," Microsoft promised.

Halo 4's competitive multiplayer modes will be known as War Games, and will take place on the combat deck of the UNSC Infinity. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait a bit longer for Microsoft to reveal any details on all of the modes being offered in Halo 4. Maybe E3?

You can also expect more freedom when it comes to player customization. A new progression system and in-depth customization allows you to shape your soldier's stats to fit your individual playstyle.

"The Halo 4 player progression system goes beyond simple aesthetic upgrades, encouraging players to invest time and effort to create a Spartan that looks and plays the way they want," Microsoft explained. "Players can earn and activate combat enhancements called 'Specializations' based on the style of play they engage in, from stealth to all-out assault, and everything in between."

It definitely looks like some big changes are headed our way with Halo 4. If done right, it can be a welcomed change for a franchise that needed a breath of fresh air. Hopefully, 343 Industries can deliver on all that is promised. In addition to all of these modes, the Halo 4 Limited Edition became available for pre-order yesterday. Find out more about what that entails here.